Picnic PostNL name 2026 Tour de France team without a GC leader

Sprints and attacks: that will be Picnic PostNL’s strategy during the Tour de France. The Dutch WorldTour team has decided which eight riders will head to Barcelona for Le Grand Départ. Unlike last year, they have no general classification ambitions, but they will be going all out for stage wins.

Picnic PostNL will look back on the 2025 Tour de France with fond memories. Team leader Oscar Onley shone for three weeks and capped off his stellar Tour with a fourth-place finish in the general classification. Following his departure to Netcompany INEOS, the Dutch team will change course. No more general classification—instead, they’ll be aiming for stage wins.

One of the key players in this effort will be Pavel Bittner. The 23-year-old Czech rider surprisingly won a stage on his debut in the Vuelta a España. Last year, he lined up at the start of the Tour for the first time, where he sprinted to a top-five finish twice. His fourth-place finish in the ninth stage to Châteauroux (won by Tim Merlier) was his best result. Despite a difficult preparation period, the team is convinced he can do even better.

"We're heading to the Tour with a team that's incredibly motivated to make its mark in the final stages," says team director Matt Winston on his team's website. "Our preparations weren’t without setbacks, as our lead sprinter, Pavel, missed important race kilometers due to an injury. He has now fully recovered and is ready to compete in the bunch sprints, just like last year."

Bittner hasn’t raced since May 19, but Picnic PostNL will still be hoping for success from the young sprinter. He’ll have a strong lead-out train behind him: John Degenkolb, Julius van den Berg, and Niklas Märkl will be fully dedicated to supporting their sprinter. Frits Biesterbos could also be a valuable asset there.

He finished fourth in the Brussels Cycling Classic, third in Veenendaal-Veenendaal, and seventh in the Copenhagen Sprint. “After a strong first pro season, Frits is now making his debut in the Tour de France, which we’re really looking forward to,” says Winston. Belgian rider Robbe Dhondt, who comes from the development team, will also be making his debut in the Tour de France.

In the tough stages, Frank van den Broek and Warren Barguil will have to get results by attacking. “Together with riders like Frank and Warren, we want to go for stage wins in the mountain stages. We’re looking forward to starting in Barcelona and making a plan each day to perform as well as possible over the course of the three weeks.”